This invention relates to insulation displacement contacts. More particularly, it relates to insulation displacement contacts which are useful in terminating more than a single conductor.
Insulation displacement contacts which terminate a single insulated conductor have been used for quite some time in the electrical connector industry. In general, an insulation displacement contact includes a bifurcated element having a pair of beams with a pair of closely spaced opposed termination surfaces. The beams separate in a V-shape, like a scissors, during termination. The termination surfaces include knife edge portions for penetrating the insulation of the electrical conductor.
An example of an insulation displacement contact is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,700 assigned to Bell Telephone Laboratories Incorporated.
Insulation displacement contacts are used to a large extent in 110 block housings used in the telecommunications industry with patch panels located in buildings and offices which have multi-line telephone and communication systems. Incoming wires from the telephone company are terminated by the 110 blocks located on the patch panel. Each insulation displacement contact is normally designed to terminate only a single wire or conductor. However, it is often desirable to terminate a second conductor by an insulation displacement contact.
A typical insulation displacement contact is not able to properly terminate more than a single insulated electrical conductor. If one tries to terminate a second conductor after a first conductor has been terminated and the V-shape has been formed, the integrity of the termination, i.e. conductor metal to contact metal, is often disturbed. This occurs because the contact beams are spread apart again during the termination of the second conductor, thus loosening the connection with the first conductor. The problem occurs when the conductor diameters are the same or different, however, it is exacerbated if the diameter of the second conductor is larger than the diameter of the first conductor.
There is currently on the market a contact known as the LSA-PLUS, which is commercially available from Krone, Inc., which is claimed to be able to terminate two conductors. The Krone LSA-PLUS contact is a slotted contact which is placed diagonally across the well of contact receiving housing which is modified to permit a twisting of the contact so as to continue a grip on the first terminated conductor while the second conductor is being terminated. The Krone LSA-PLUS contact requires a modification in the contact housing. In addition, the Krone LSA-PLUS contact relies on shear forces, like scissors, and has been known to cause undesirable deep nicks in the conductors.